Lightroom 6.2 Import Update

I’d like to thank our customers for their patience while the team reviewed several options for restoring import workflows and addressing quality in Lightroom. We can now confirm that, in our next dot release, we will restore the previous import experience. We are still working on details and timing. In the meantime, if you need to restore previous import functionality prior to the next update, please refer to this document on how to roll back to Lightroom 6.1.1 (https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/roll-back-to-prior-update.html).

We will continue to investigate ways to improve the ease of use of our photography products and will do so via an open dialog, with both existing and new customers.

i upgraded yesterday, i had 8 and LR maxed it out. i just moved to 16, amazon deal. LR is still taking up 6GB and sometime when i scroll it jumps to 10 and also sitting at 20% to 40% CPU. i7 3gen. very strange that this would drain my resorces so much.

i downgraded to 2015.1 and it went back to normal. then upgraded to the new fixed one from two days ago. went right back to sucking.

For what it’s worth, I was willing to put up with the new import dialog until the next release, but performance was SO painful that I absolutely had to downgrade to 6.1.1. Everything was painfully slow, and RAM usage was very high for me as well (on an i7 laptop with 8GB RAM, Windows 7). After reverting to 6.1.1, everything was back to normal.

Perhaps in your next release, you can give customers an option to deselect camera-specific raw converters and lens-specific profile corrections that keeps growing as newer cameras are being introduced. For once I have never use a Hassy or Mamiya to import, so LR can be kept as small a footprint as possible without that unnecessary bloat.

Horah! That’s really great to hear. I know you heard plenty lobbying for bringing it back (from me too) – but this rapid turnaround is really welcome news. Thanks for responding so quickly.

Ps – with your earlier note about analytics – I, like many others (likely on the more “seasoned” side of LR user) do disable reporting my utilization patterns back to the Adobe mothership. I can appreciate how that may unduly influence internal product decisions (and something I hadn’t thought about until now) – however, that is likely a reality. Sigh, not sure how to resolve that (besides user awareness of possible consequences) – however in-app analytics needs to be augmented through some other method.

Why do you disable the analytics? It is really shooting yourself in the foot. I mean, why wouldn’t you want your particular usage patterns taken into account in future Lightroom versions? It’s not like Adobe is collecting your images or anything, just recording which features are used when and how many times, how manyphotos yuo have and so on. I am a very technical user and I make a point of always participating in programs like this. Otherwise, how can you complain when changes like this happen?

Seriously, with all the reporting functions in various apps and even operating systems like the latest Win10 it’s common practice in a working environment to block everything that personal sends data back to the net, even in subscription-based products like CC.

Even if some individual professional users enable it now: Like all opinion polls ( (academics don’t like answering), app telemetry is heavily biased and needs “correction” factors applied. If a global company like Adobe isn’t able to do that, they can stop collecting data completely.

The main focus should be on bugs fix and performance improvement. The raw file size is getting bigger. Fast performance will truly make the difference. We can wait for other new features until LR7 (don’t take away any more features….please)

I am very pleased to learn that the LR team wants to provide desired import features for those of us with an established workflow. In my case, that workflow has been evolving since LR2 Beta. I am looking forward to the next update while skipping over the most recent one.
Thank you all
Mark

Thanks for restoring the Import panel. I have always shared the analytics with Adobe, and I encourage others to do so as well. It uses very little bandwidth*, and if enough users had had it turned on, it might have averted this unpleasant episode.
* I’ll bet that analytics uses way less than that CC updater thing that came with 6.2(?) but which I deleted as soon as I realized that I could delete it..

Tom,
Earlier today I spoke with a web site developer about this Lightroom update. Their initial response was simple “They better not mess with my Photoshop!!!”. Soooo…… your work to restore confidence has just begun.
Thanks again for listening.

Well, this is a move in the right direction, but why it took you a week to give us a way to go back to the previous version is beyond me. Because you wasted my time editing a wedding and it has taken me twice as long to edit the files with all of the bugs even with the release of the update that was supposed to fix the bugs. I am not 100% sold on the idea that you learned anything by this debacle. I think you all will still try to force us later on down the line to accept a new import interface, you will just be more subtle in your approach the next time.

The roll back info was available early on after the fiasco on Laura Shoes LR Blog (she does the best LR training videos and some for Adobe’s site directly)
Actually the fix to help new users confusion was to have an imbedded LR training video by her (or Julianne Kost, Adobe’s LR guru) on the import process to help them understand how to do it .they would watch it on their first launch of the product to understand the difference between a catalog and just a browser and how to get their pix into a catalog.

Thanks for the update, this is the one sane decision to make without digging an even deeper hole!

Imho even annoyed users should recognize that this step certainly wasn’t easy after previous posts stated that there’s no going back. I hope the massive feedback will give you some ammunition against your “we need more new customers, never mind existing users or code quality” management.

LR is an amazing product, just as you stated *because* it was created in cooperation with the community depending on their respective workflows. I imagine it actually should be a rewarding dev experience to go back to this dialog without relying on telemetry or just going after quarterly figures.

This totally makes my day. Thanks to Tom and the Lightroom team for being who they are and doing what they do. I like the way you handled this whole thing. Making mistakes or being wrongif only human, but dealing with it shows what kind of person you are. Respect.

Hi Tom,
you need one week to find out that you want to do it and you can not even give a timeline, when it´s done?
I´m not really happy with this. I expected a version this week. You destroyed my workflow and I waste a lot of time for who knows how long.
René

All you have to do is roll back and you are in the same place you were 10 days ago.
If the next .dot release returns the import routine then most of us will be very happy. If at the same time some of the bugs are cured even better. If I can tether from my Nikons, then I’ll be ecstatic.
Software as a service works for me; and it gives the manufacturer a steady income. Try writing software and hoping you can cover your cost (I did this for 30 years) it rarely works.

Thanks for this change. I also appreciate the effort to get more dialog with existing and new customers (vs. impersonal analytics). Taking note of what your photographer/beta testers say would also be a big plus 😉

Thank you Adobe, that restores my faith in an excellent product I have recommended to countless students, colleagues and photographers and designers, both professional and amateur. Indeed, if it was not such an excellent product there would not have been the impassioned howl of anguish from so many who care about it. If you at Adobe are feeling a bit bruised by all this, bear that in mind and take heart.
In my own businesses, my mantra has always been “Everyone who is creative will get things wrong sometimes – it’s how you deal with it that counts”. So top marks to Tom and the others at Adobe. I look forward to the renewed partnership between Adobe and ALL its users.

Thanks for the update and sorry you have to get rid of something the team must have worked on very hard !

To me Lightroom has now all the features I need as a photographer (I was waiting impatiently for facial recognition), and if it were up to me I would focus all future efforts on improving performance (facial recognition is painfully slow on some random pictures, raw files occasionally take a while to load…). Only real issue I’ve been having is not being able to chose on which screen to display my secondary window.

They didn’t say they’ll get rid of the new import experience, just that they’ll restore the old one. As they’ve been very clear that they feel this is a blocking problem for new users, they’ll probably just gather more feedback before having another attempt. Nothing wrong with that mind you, unless it degrades code quality significantly. But most performance problems and bugs seem to be lingering in the library module, and not in the separate import process.

Lightroom is a hot mess, if they cared about their customers they would have a) streamlined the import function without removing features while allowing the classic import function to be used if the user wished, b) fixed all of the persistent bugs (many of which have been there since v3), insuring a much better user experience, c) treated LR as the professional app that it is and added features such as layers, and d) addressed the rapidly deteriorating speed issue…

To address the selfie crowd simple release Lightroom elements with an upgrade path to Lightroom…

Thank you for having listened to our comments. It was without joy that I posted rather though comments. I have never closed the door of Analytics. Re-instaur beta testing and you will have a formidable sounding board again.

Tom et al, thanks a lot for wonderful news! Next time you issue an update I suggest you mention alongside what the update is supposed to do. Then WE, YOUR BELOVED CUSTOMERS may decide whether we want it or not.
Thumbs up !!!

One important topic you didn’t address: the double standard in your mistreatment of perpetual license customers. They were not supposed to get new features such as clarity and local blacks slider, however they got the new import dialog, which was evidently not just a bug fix. Why the discrepancy?

That’s what I also wonder about. I mentioned this point in my comment to the last blogpost, but there is no response to that.
It’s just a political decision to force the users to the CC-Version. To me, after this experience, it’s absolutely clear that Lightroom 6 is my last version and my last software from Adobe (unless they change their mind about the licensing).

The new import dialog was a *replacement* of a function. Haze is an added function. Technically, that makes a difference. Had Adobe wanted to keep the old import dialog for perpetual license customers, they would have to maintain two separate import code branches. Disabling Haze is just a switch in the code, which is much easier to do.
BTW, you can still use Haze with the great presets from Prolost: http://www.proloststore.com/products/dehaze. And they’re free!

I found that I had to do the following to revert back to Version 6.1.1 on a Windows PC
1. Uninstall 6.2 — I used CC App
2. Install 6.0
3. Install update Lightroom 6.0.1/2015.0.1
4. Install update Lightroom 6.1/2015.1
5. Install update Lightroom 6.1.1/2015.1.1
I got an error saying the install package was damaged when I completed step 2 and tried to go directly to step 5. Installing 6.0 then the 3 updates in order worked perfectly. If you have a similar issue this may work for you.

Thank you Tom and the Adobe team for listening to your user base.
For a company to truly embrace innovation they need to try new things and sometimes fail. I believe that the failures need to stay within Adobe and a select user group. In the past we were given Beta versions through Adobe Labs to try out. I think this uproar could have been avoided if you first heard an outcry from the beta group. I would like to have seen 6.1 and 6.2 early and be able to voice my opinions. To do this I would also like the option to install the trial as a separate instance so I could test on one and work on another. I still like my idea of adding a Wizard within the Import Module to guide new users through the import with simple explanations for each step. Very quickly they will understand how each of the options may be used and will develop their own workflow and abandon the Wizard. The new users in a few tries will become experts.

BTW I truly like the addition of the Dehaze Brush slider in the Develop Module within 6.2. Being able to apply this selectively is great.

Thank you all for the courage to step back and listen to your customers. This act is far to rare in today’s world of “we know best what you need” approach to products. Lightroom is a great tool, and nearly all of the omissions and changes to the recent release were things I used on a daily basis. And preferred. I look forward to many years of continued enjoyment of Lightroom and respectful dialog with your team. Thank you again.

I need an email from you, Tom, to send a photo to. My LR did something really weird last night. Adobe has a very big problem with this release. My bison was given an additional eye! by the program, I swear to this, I am not kidding. The program also revised a whole group of developed photos, looks like it gave them more light,which was not an improvement. I took a screen shot to show you that includes the NEF tag on it so that you can see its never left LR. Switching back to the older version this morning.

I complained so I will also say thanks!
I was concerned this would not happen because a similar user outcry on the Adobe video side when Encore was not updated for Creative Cloud or to work with new Windows operating systems was not heeded. To this day it still a huge issue…
But anyway I am so glad the Lightroom team was open to input and responsive!
Thanks again.
Bill

OK. Now we wait. Suggest you remove the current update as an ‘update’ to save further grief.
(and if I could stop Creative Cloud up updating LR on its own I’d be even happier…I’m on my second roll-back)
Performance focus please for useful features such as previews, real time brush actions…for example.

Actually Deidre, for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, many of us found the new “Import experience” to be perfectly usable – fast, stable and straightforward, and the functionality that was removed didn’t matter a bit to me.

I’m no Lr novice either, and it fitted with my current import workflow extremely well.

To me, it was neither fast nor stable. Lightroom 6.2.1 takes about 5 times as long to open the import-dialog compared to 6.1. After that, the import takes ages. And on many machines, it crashed even before the import.

I’d also like to say that I don’t object to finding a way to make LR import easier. I just found that the 6.2 import UI confusing, not ejecting cards more likely to cause corruption, and hiding the destination tree made it HARDER. For now, I suggest you provide more detailed overlays for beginners (like the ones that I saw when I first launched LR). If so many beginners are having problems with the current LR, you may have a market for LR Elements. I used Photoshop Elements for years before I outgrew it. If you do intend to change the LR UI, please do it in a 7.0 release, make it consistent across the entire program, do an extensive beta test (to avoid things like huge check marks hiding thumbnails), and provide a “Pro” experience with a stripped down UI and more functionality.

OH, and could you pretty please make LR faster? I was seriously considering buying a new computer before all the hubbub made me realize that LR was gradually getting slower and hogging more resources

This is FANTASTIC news. While the emergency patch update did address most of the stability issues on my machine, I look forward to the “old” interface’s return. Thank you to Adobe for listening. It is much appreciated.

Thanks, Tom. Good to know you guys are listening. Even more, publishing a “roll back” option yourself is a very good sign you really do care. How about a thank you gift for the LR6 folks — include dehaze in the next dot release?? For the CC crowd, add a couple months to their subscriptions. Spoonful of honey…just saying’.

That’s what I was thinking, Mike. At least give us a free month to make up for all the wasted time trying to get 6.2 to work and then rolling back. In my case, it wasn’t just the new Import UI that was a problem but all the bugs introduced by the change made it impossible to work with either 6.2 version..

I started to keep track of the hours I spent dinking around with this! First thinking I was an idiot doing something wrong. Uninstalling, then reinstalling LR. Then Re-importing, and finally turning to Social media and LR forums to find I wasn’t alone!.

I don’t care about getting extra or bonus. Just a commitment never to pull this kind of crap again! This was NOT a dot release! It should have been put out to the community ahead of time! It seems the left hand (Developers) did not talk to the right hand (Users/Trainers)?

Thanks for listening to your customers.
! I look forward to the old import procedure options.
I wish you would investigate a “guided import” for new or inexperienced users. Just let your experienced users continue to always have flexibility to figure out what works them.

Thanks, but I think I will stick to my downgraded CC 2015.1.1 for a good while. From now on, I will be more careful with Adobe updates. I will do thorough research before installing new update from you.

I am very disappointed with the return of the old interface. When I was looking for an alternative to Aperture, most reviews pointed out the outdated LR interface. The new interface might not have been perfect but was a step in the right direction. I learned my way around and imported successfully more than 4000 images with renaming, presets, metadata as I was doing before. Now, all this is waisted because some people are opposed to change. So many comments were frustrating for me because many were false. Most features were still there or the equivalent. One that come to mind was one about asking to bring back renaming on import. Just did it on 4000 images. There was too many of those among some legitimate ones. Even people that did not upgrade had opinions sometime based on false comments. My issue was not the look of the interface but the bugs. Found many that were not discussed on the web. That version was not ready to ship. People that were opposed to the UI will get the old back. What about giving dehaze to everybody to makeup for my time wasted to learn the new UI? As a perpetual license, I did not get dehaze but got the new import UI. And wasted time learning my way with it.

I successfully imported into LR more than 4,000 images with renaming and metadata presets. Will have another 2,000 this week. Some of us have images to take care of and don’t have the luxury to wait 2-3 weeks to see if and when Adobe will bring back the old interface.

I agree with you Serge, the new interface has a few minor bugs and was not ready, but it was not missing as much as people make it out to be.. yes renaming files is easy and obvious how to do it.. It took me 4 seconds to figure out how to do it.

Personally I would like to see import presets on the first screen that would include everything the existing presets include but in addition, include the source drive and path. But even without that, I find the new interface highly usable and not deserving of as much complaining as it got.

It wasn’t so much the new import paridigm shift. It was the deletion of import functions and for some a huge performance hit at the same time.

Just because it worked for you, does not mean it worked for others. there are a huge variation in operating system diffferences in the user base. this resulted in differences in how severe the issues are.

the update was buggy. some had a so so experience with the upgrade, for others, totally unworkable.

there are many different workflows employed. for some, especially those that make their money in photography and have a deadline to meet, the update was a totall disaster.

Thank you, Tom, and thanks Adobe for working this situation to an acceptable resolution. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out a way to redesign my import workflow to make it work with the features that had been taken away. Bringing them back is gratefully appreciated.

First, thank you. Thank you for saying analytics can’t be hard to read.

Like many users, I am concerned about the scope of those analytics, and if there’s a way to disable them. The only way I know it to use a firewall to disable any traffic from LightRoom to any Adobe servers.

Last point is about performance. LR 6/CC performance took a major hit compared to the version 5. I am curious to know if the analytics gave you a scale of the disaster, but I’ve never read so many customer unhappy. Usually they are silent when things are acceptable.

So a special task force on performance would be great. A bit like what Apple did with El Capitan.

Thanks for the upcoming effort leading all of us in the right direction.

Regarding performance, Antoine, do you use a Mac. Since the import issue everyone’s been complaining about that. I myself got a remarkable performance increase on Windows, since the last update 6.2.1. 6.2.0 and all previous versions of LR (since 4.0) were slower for me. This is the first time I really enjoy using it without feeling it’s too slow.

Anyhow, was just wondering, as I only found a few people saying it got faster, and I wonder if the others would even realize, in their frustration. For me the previewing, changing to next picture, the loading, when zooming in is at least 3-5 times faster. My PC got enough resources (16GB RAM, SSDs etc. tho my PC is 4-5 years old).

Thank you so much for the good news. I’m sure it’s been a difficult week at Adobe, but believe Adobe is making the correct choice. I was pretty vocal on the photoshopuser forum about not caring for the new interface and loss of features. I think Adobe’s announcement will be very welcomed by the professional/enthusiast users.

Having worked for a software company I know that this whole mess happened because Sales and Marketing overruled the developers. Sales always wants new features (features sell, performance improvements are for existing customers) and marketing wanted a release to coincide with the Adobe Max conference.

Right now I am sure the developers are feeling smug because they were right however no one in sales or marketing will suffer for this. No one.

PLEASE keep the current Import to A: and B: hard drive functionality!!!
It’s so nice to have this bug finally fixed, when you revert back to the old method, it will be broken again.

See

I like the new import functionality better, you went through all the trouble of writing it, why not let each user decide which one to use by putting an option in preferences?? Just be sure to fix the new method to include presets which it is lacking… lots of us have multiple cameras that require different import and develop presets and need to import into different folders, so import presets are essential. (yes, WAY more important than the A: or B: drive)

but you can use presets in the new dialog, just as you did before.
However; I miss the previews of the file name, as well as of the directory tree, where you can see, what directories are going to be created etc.

Hi Tom, sorru to offer a different view, but I kinda like the new import process, I very much resented the previous one, which I found unintuitive. The idea of coming back to the previous process is not good news at all.

This needed to happen to fulfill the promises in your last blog post, and it did. Looking forward, the #1 thing that will convince me to update my production machine to LR 6 and beyond is all around performance, and given this is something that signification impacts the UX of the newbie and the pro alike, and that I’ve heard both sounding off about negatively compared to the alternatives, I think its something we can all agree is a worthy goal to focus on. Thanks.

Hooray!!! Thanks from me and hundreds of my photographer lightroom-students that hated the new confusing Import logic. All the other comments in the initial “complaints” regarding the update should really be addressed as well.

1. Speed alone is becoming a huge burden in Lightroom.
2. Even with “compatible” graphics boards, the software performs better with this option turned off.
3. Please bring back the ability to apply presets (with the right-click content menu) to a group of selected images. I am aware I can do this with Copy/Paste but it adds some additional steps to my workflow. I cannot understand the logic in removing this useful tool. I know dozens of photographers that have been using this and now it is gone. Why?

Thank you Tom for your hard work and for listening to your customers! I’ve been as critical as anyone on the 6.2 mess. But, I recognize that the dumbing-down edict probably happened at a much higher level at Adobe and that you and your team are caught in the middle. I blame the person in charge…the same one who moved your tech support exclusively to Mumbai to help his countrymen at the expense of American jobs and the quality of said tech support. To predict a 20% annual growth and try to attain that is delusional in this economy. I doubt if the drug cartels are doing that now.

1. Poor quality control. Regardless if you like or dislike the new interface, there were too many bugs.

2. No vision. I think the new interface was a step in the right direction. More modern look interface. Most features were still there contrary to many comments. Choosing file destination was the same as any other software. You know how to save a Word document? You know how to save your images in LR. Following 2015 standards is a good thing. There will always be people opposed to change. A familiar outdated interface will always be better than a more efficient new one for some. If Adobe was convinced it was the right direction to take, why going back to the old interface? With this precedent, will they be able to innovate in the future? I come from Aperture. Many Aperture users are still waiting for an alternative. Many tried Lightroom and hate its interface. I hated it too but got used to have to do more clicks to accomplish similar tasks. Just the way it is. There is room for improvement. And missed opportunity to grab new customers.

3. No balls. If they had a vision for the future of LR, they should have stick to it. Adding back some of the missing features to show that they listen to their customers.

4. Bad communication with users. This update was a big change in the import interface. Some are making a living with this software and have deadlines. A warning to users and tutorials ready to go would have help to diminish the negative comments.

The fact of the matter is LR is LONG in tooth. It is bloated, slow, and the UI is straight out of 2005. LR needs a ground up rewrite. I would have been fine with the new import UI had they simply left in the features that pros use.

Like you I was an Aperture user and wished that Apple had simply sold or transferred Aperture to the folks at Pixelmator…

I took this debacle as an opportunity to trial C1 and loved it. I will simply let my CC subscription expire and already am making the move to C1

I hope you’re adding back the alt key combination that allows you to deselect videos. It was a hack too (ideally there would be a setting to filter out videos always) but without that alt key combo the import workflow is a disaster for anyone who shoots video and stills on the same camera.

It’s truly unfortunate that public betas no longer fit your paradigm. You could have prevented the stampede of people running away from your product.
Reinstating the Add Photos screen is fixing only the tip of the iceberg. If you can restore it with a check box in preferences, then you can restore the rest of the features we paid for and use, such as;
-The option to Move files-not just add & copy
-File renaming preview
-The Destination tree
-The ability to zoom in on photos to check for sharpness before importing
-Filtering by Destination folders
-Original file names-I want to view them, not hover to view
-Total file size on thumbnails
If the rookies and casual users want the software dumbed down for them, put the pro features behind an “auto” button like the one they use on their cameras! I rolled back to the “full-function” 6.1.1 version. I will not be updating if the rest of the functionality is not restored and I will continue exploring alternatives to Lr and Ps. I’m just so fed up.

That’s what I get from the CC Abo?
New Version below Beta-Level, removed functions and a dramaticall lost of speed with each release?
Lightroom 4 was much faster, on a slower maschine without a SSD Drive.
I havn’t seen any improvments in the print, web, slideshow and book Module at all. Infact, the book module is still just a bad joke, it should be named “blur” Module. Unflexible, difficult to use, no way do make own layouts… USELESS

At this point I’m finished with Adobe Software Abos. I was impressed from Lightroom 3 + 4, but at this point I’ll look for alternatives.

Tom, I would like to personally thank you and Adobe for listening to photographers. (Also for what it is worth, I would live with the new Import process in order to get the new Dehaze feature as a brush. That one feature alone justifies the upgrade.)

People the old interface is not coming back! They are just going to restore the key features they ripped out. The new interface is here to stay. The new interface is needed and hopefully the new look will be appled to the rest of the application. Tom please make sure the check mark icons are smaller and place them to one corner.

…and please use standard square buttons (at least on Windows) and put them at the bottom of the screen where they naturally belong. Having the buttons on the top is breaking every existing user interface design guideline in existence. You work top – down, and don’t want to go back to the top to confirm your selections.

Thank you for listening to your customers, addressing the issue quickly and most importantly, bringing back the import functions this version removed.
The most important to me are.
*Move files
*Preview file renaming
*Destination tree for review/confirmation before import

Tom, thank you for responding to the update furore. As a long time user of the CC photography package I welcome the return of the older import screen; I trust that “Move on import” is also returning.
One other request, please make “Keep older versions when updating” the default, as it used to be. It is all too easy to miss unchecking “Delete older versions”, especially as the box only appears if one remembers to click on “Advanced”, which is all too easy to miss.
Thanks for listening,
Bob

Thank you, this is the right call. Hats off to the team for listening to their customers.
You may also want to rethink your early adopter / beta experience. Next time you want to try something radical, why not make in an opt-in early access feature. You keep the existing functionality as default and have a way for folks to opt-in to early access features with a way to collect feedback either directly within the interface itself (see how Microsoft did that with Office 2016 previews) or via dedicated forums.

I am seeing conflicting information above about “Exactly what” functionality and UI is – or is not – “coming back”. Will somebody from ADOBE please provide a definitive statement that I can rely on regarding this.

Glad to hear the full import dialog is coming back! I expect more features and performance enhancements for my $50+ a month, NOT less features that I depend on. I have also had a long standing complaint about other features deemed by Adobe to be not useful for me, core features to my workflow, simply removed without ever asking me. This is a practice Adobe should end! If I knew a survey was needed to determine the direction of the software, I would gladly take it and provide suggestions. I enjoy many features of Adobe’s software, but please stop taking useful tools away!

I have no problem with the new import process. It took me just a few minutes to learn the new way of importing photos. I know people like Scott Kelby went nuts over it but I think people are over reacting. Photographers in general (and I am one) seem to be a very difficult group of people.

Thought you should know I am not upset and I think Adobe is doing a great job with this product.

You may find that your particular workflow is different from many others on here, rather than this being a case of other photographers just being difficult for the sake of being difficult. I can only speak for myself, but with my particular workflow the new import interface is unusable.

Tom,
Thank you for your apology and explanation that the next “dot” release will fix the issues but, “When is the next ‘dot’ release coming?” It’s all well and good to say you’re sorry, but when is this going to become an unhappy memory? Seriously, this was a major mistake and you are to be commended that you’ve stepped up and admitted it. Now we need a date as to when it’ll be corrected. The link to ‘go back’ is a good half-step but it’s not enough. Especially now must that we must continually pay monthly fees to Adobe for a broken product, I think we deserve a date as to when this will all go away.

what a good news . (anyway i have not made the upgrade.)
adobe has understand the users, the photographers, the Customers.
it is good to know that we can use again the destination folder. it is major for people who work with different folders , differents hard drive.. the destination tree is an obligation .
and to see the photo before the import is important too. for the same reason

After a busy week or so and not having any time to import photos, I sat down at my computer (with newly updated Lightroom) to import my shoot from earlier that day. I was shocked to see the new interface and fumbled around for way too long attempting to see the familiar views and settings that I always use. Some of the features I hope will be restored:
-seeing the photos by date in the import (with ability to expand or contract and check an entire date for import or not)
-showing the folders where imported photos will go – along with the number of photos to be imported
-ability to choose between copy/move/add

There are probably others – but I was so frustrated. I did some searches this morning and found this forum. I will be waiting anxiously for the new release – and looking to restore to the previous version in the meantime.

Otherwise – I do really enjoy Lightroom and recommend it to many. I understand the update in looks but hope the functionality can remain. Thanks.

Let’s hope “restore the import experience” actually means restoring the lost features and superior UI…call me cynical but this is worded like corporate speak. I’m holding off on my “thanks for listening” until we see what is actually delivered.

I don’t have time to overview all that’s been reported about the new import module, so I’m sorry if I repeat something that has already been reported.

First of all, I want to say that I found the previous import module extremely practical, first of all because everything was at hand and visible in one single screen.

In addition to the frequent missing features that have been mentionned here and there (renaming preview, destination folder structure, move option, file sizes etc.), I miss awfully the importation presets !

I don’t think I’m the only person using Lightroom with different importation presets according to context… Could you please consider bringing it back ?

I am still getting a black square on attempted imports? so lots of wasted time.
Perhaps as a gesture of goodwill Adobe will add the CC features not available in the stand alone version of 6.2 like Dehaze?
It would be credible to start 6.2 ads a 6.3 with all the latest additions rather than patches and waiting for the next “upgrade?”
It would go some way to help restore some company reputation
Regards

I’ll believe it when I see it. I think this is just marketing Hype to get us off Tom’s back.

EXCUSE ME but just how hard is it to Reinstate something that has been in LR since it was in Beta and still is in the last Point release before the Bone Headed change in 15.2/6.2.

Simple Tom, Take the code from 15.1.1/6.1.1 add the local dehaze feature and the new camera support and RELEASE IT.

Then work on SPEED and Stability and leave the UI alone. Along with that FIRE the A-holes that lead you down the path to change the import UI. If that was all your doing then Resign as you have no clue as to what should be in and what shouldn’t be in a Pro Photo managing and editing program.

You know … I would be perfectly happy if the only thing worked on from the 2015.3 release forward to the 2016 release would be cleaning up the code and making things faster. THEN I believe you would work on what most of the current users would want/need.
Don’t make it bigger, make it faster and lighter.

I am a Lightroom user for a long time. But every time there is a LR update I get the idea that Adobe is pushing me to the competition.
It would be much more interesting having a lighter and faster LR, than replacing an important function by a piece of junk. So I tottaly agrre with Peter.
I’m waiting…

Too little – too late. Too much money, not enough quality! Why are people sucking up to Tom for finally accepting that he has screwed up so badly. For the money we are all paying this sort of screw-up in unacceptable. Compensate me for my time, and maybe I might think a bit more positively about Lightroom and Adobe!

Hi
Two things:
1. with the downgrade, I can not import Sony A7R II files – Not supported
2. Your description is more then misleading.
a. You want me to install 6.0 first, but there is no 6.0 Installer.
b. The installation of 6.1.1. works without any issue when I click the MAC symbol on the right of the explanation to install 6.1.1. , so why install 6.0 (What does not work)

At this point I think the only hope is that if everyone who feels strongly about this keeps bombarding these Adobe feedback pathways with a simple “Put back the old Import dialog without change” message. Plain and simple. No long verbiage needed. No debates on the merits of the Eject, or any other option. Just lots of people saying the same thing – : Put Back the Old Import Dialog Without Change.

Then, release it, and go back to work on other “improvements.” And if you need to “dumb it down,” consider releasing Lightroom Elements…

You might also want to consider going back to beta testing. “Back in the day…” this never would have happened. Software engineers make lousy beta testers.

Join in the chorus of import complaints. Add to this – on my 27″ imac – the import options (under the gear) have a lot of black text on a dark grey background, in a very small font. I can’t read a thing.

Thanks very much, Tom, for the team’s willingness to listen to us. This is a remarkable, perhaps unprecedented, response to customers from a major firm and we appreciate it. Looking forward to the update, at which time I will be going to the monthly CC subscription plan.

The Adobe Lightroom team is doing a good job, and I think that LRCC is going in the right direction.

But I want to ask for something, that was taken away in this update and wasn’t perfect in the older version. Now I’m unable to import multiple cards at the same time, and that slows my workflow. With this update I gotta import one card at the time, and that’s lame. Please fix that, I cant take advantage of the more expensive card readers like the Lexar HR Workflow Card Reader with 4 bays. Is Useless in LRCC.

If you can return that feature, or even, improve over the last older versions will be extra cool. (in the older versions, the card reader imported automatically the 4 bays, but only one at the time, if you can make it import all at the same time will be cool and faster. USB3.0 and Thunderbolt should handle it.)

Hey, I work with the PS en LR CC version and after update it today my import module in LR change totally, and honestly it’s just SUCK’s. It take a lot of time before he find something and I want just add photo’s that was already om my disk ( so want to add at same location ) and not import. I even couldn’t find how to do this. Once finally I find the map i wanted to add, well seems to have to import it he start synchronize but after 25 pics stops and nothing happens??? Oh this isn’t not at all what I want from a update! Can i go back to previous import module on some way?

The rollback offers new problems when operating under El Capitan: i.e., frequent crashes, especially after catalog backup and upon exiting the program. And it’s slow..unbearably slow even on a MacPro with 64GB ram and 6 processors! Your roll-back suggestion is next to worthless.

Where’s the next point release? Where”s either a refund of our monthly fee or an extension? Where’s the attention to solving performance issues and fixing bugs (rather than idiotic attempts to dumb the program down)?

Lightroom is becoming a total joke. Shame on me for even updating but since my Lightroom crashes/freezes up all the time I was hoping the update was a fix…. LOL Now my workflow is taking twice as long, trying to find images that I edited on may laptop and importing them says, already imported when they are not, can add images now, what a freaking mess. Besides LR is getting slower on each update. I pray for a competitor. CC sucks too. Never updates the RAW update. Pros like me are all complaining. Adobe is a becoming a joke amongst us. Get rid of your “help” desk in India too, they don’t have a clue.

Thank you Tom and team – looking forward to keeping the old interface around for us wily veterans.
How can I make sure that I’m included in the “open discussion”? I’d like to make sure my voice is heard, since I’m a paying customer.

I just finished the DOWNGRADE processo to 6.1.1 and am managing to work with it. I am still sorry for the final outcome. Adobe just launched the 6.0 and i bought a permanent license upgrade.
BEFORE doing so, Adobe should have alerted the users about that.
IM, using a converter is not the same as having a full compatible system.
It sounds as a marketing approach in order to force users to the CC.

Thank you so much for wishing to reverse the import dialog. The newer one might be fun for touch screen fanatics, but for serious photographers it is outright awful. Don’t try to copy Microsoft, or Canonical… keep touch interfaces and desktop interfaces separate no matter how tempting it is to merge the code base!

Hi Tom.
Thank you for confirming that you will put back the original import function which in my view didn’t need fixing. Some other points if I may which echoes what some have already said:

If you want to dumb down Lightroom then go ahead and create an Elements version. You have an intelligent, loyal lightroom customer base. Don’t insult them by pandering to the lowest common denominator of intelligence. If people tell you that can’t work out how to use the import dialogue then recommend they do what a lot of us have done and buy a book on how to use it. Good products are sometimes not easy to use at first but that is why they are good!

In future do what the smartest companies do and consult widely with your customers before making any changes like this again. This release was amateur hour.

Put all your time and effort into making Lightroom faster/leaner

If I failed to pay my Photoshop plan subscription for one month then you would probably prevent me having full access to the software. However, Adobe have just made my purchase virtually unusable so where is my pro rata refund for the amount of time I’ve been unable to use the product which is now not fit for purpose? As a gesture of goodwill, offer to refund one months subscription to all CC users. Tell you what – its not even about the money – why not offer it to charity? Yes, Adobe take a short term financial hit but think of the long term benefits.

Finally, you have a very very loyal customer base who trust Adobe. Please don’t ever take that for granted which you have done here.

This import change is really egregious. How did it make it though the Adobe process without anyone catching what a mess it is for professionals to deal with. I’m really asking that question.

LR has become essential for my business, but this is unacceptable.

As long as I’m venting, I’d like to point out that Adobe originated the customer disservice model of having no actual documented help for their software. When you request help, you are lead to a labyrinth of forums and whatnot. where people of varying qualifications speculate on solutions to problems with vary degrees of success .

I don’t even know how I got here or what this is. I searched for a solution to this awful import problem and here I am.

And as far as actually getting direct customer service, I don’t think that I’ve even had the energy to try to do that in a decade or so.

Yes Photoshop, Lightroom and other Adobe offerings have absolutely wonderful features and, as I’ve said, have become essential to my work, but help from and communication with the company is completely unacceptable.

|When Not To Use SQLite|
—
Applications requiring high write volumes:
One of the limitations of SQLite is the write operations. This DBMS allows only one single write*operating to take place at any given time, hence allowing a limited throughput.

Pleeeeese bring an update which works, 6.2.1 didn’t made any improvement. I can’t import form my SD card, and I have many pictures to download. Please beta test your product before you release it, I am very disappointed with Adobe to release such a flop! Contact me if you need beta testers, I used to like this product, I teach LR classes and convinced many people to become CC members, but lost all trust in this product.

WISH: Include the “new” version number in Creative Cloud Updater description.

It keeps inviting me to upgrade Lightroom, but even clicking “What’s New” just says is “Lightroom CC?6 Update – October 2015: This release includes fixes for crashing and performance issues.” (except for the date, this is a next to useless description.)

So is there any way to tell (other than installing and then having to manually rollback) if this is a “Safe” update or the existing one with the dumbed down/broken import screen? There’s also no link to the release notes so no way to tell.

This is another example where dumbing things down hurts the competent, let alone full time professional, users! Please don’t keep us in the dark.

PS. another vote for the comment above:
3. Please bring back the ability to apply presets (with the right-click content menu) to a group of selected images. I am aware I can do this with Copy/Paste but it adds some additional steps to my workflow. I cannot understand the logic in removing this useful tool. I know dozens of photographers that have been using this and now it is gone. Why?

Thanks Tom and can they also try really hard to fix the RAM problem. I have 16GB and it still tells me I am short on memory from time to time and even crashes. Thankfully being none destructive editor it recovers okay most times. I think this is your next bug challenge. Hope for the best.

Can I again urge that you have a dumb mode and an advanced mode with a way of setting your preferred mode so you never have to see what you don’t want to see. Just like many scanners provide with the provided software. then everyone wins. This is not to say that the advance node could not be streamlined or something. I won’t mind if changes make it easier to do what we could previously do and will again soon(?). All the best

first of all; thank you very much for listening to the community and bringing back the old import features.

The second thing is the performance, which is really a mystery to me.
Since I have started to work with Lightroom, I was always a little behind with my PC, but I never had such problems, as many people are reporting, especially on rather good and fast machines.

Sure; I had some lagging when working on pics, or when switching between modules, but this became continuously better with LR5.
LR6 did not improve the speed for me at the beginning, but 6.2 did. For now, the lagging when moving sliders in the development module is nearly gone.

So; how is it that I can work on my machine with a nearly antique graphic card and only 4 GB RAM pretty well, and others with some killer machines really struggle?

Hi Tom,
Any news yet? I am now using the version prior to the new version but would like the option to be able to use the dehaze while using the brush. I have an update waiting in CC but have not accessed it as I don’t know what it will do and I DO NOT WANT THE NEW VERSION to be re-installed.
Thanks,

To include the old en perfectly working fine import dialog is a very welcome step, but a fix to a problems that should not exist in the first place. Before you pull stunts like this in the future I strongly recommend you clearly state what changes the update will do the software prior to releasing the update since many of the changes are not welcomed by the professional LR community.

I’m glad to learn you are working on restoring Lightroom to its pre-6.2.1 state. Sadly I had to read almost to the end of the comments on the 6.2 update page to find this out. Still, better late than never—though I can’t take credit for being patient about it. I figured the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so I squeaked a lot. Knowing you are aware of the problems with the update and are fixing them, I will be more patient going forward—hoping you really will fix it, not just paper it over. No doubt we’ll never know the nity-grity details about how and why the decision was made to abandon the ill-conceived and poorly executed changes in 6.2.1. I hope the people responsible for them are eating some real crow right now—and that their influence over Lightroom development will be severely limited in the future, if not eliminated altogether.

And I guess a week is not all that long a time to wait for a decision to make a course correction like this. It just seemed like it while I was reading and commenting about the update. I am reassured that you do, in fact, take our feedback seriously. And perhaps I was hasty in thinking you would not do so. But this update induced a lot of panic among veteran users like me—and some serious outrage.

As for the original justification for dumbing down Lightroom, I remember a time when software came with user manuals. The Help menu in Lightroom doesn’t get the job done, given that the Adobe web site it takes us to is far more complex and opaque than the Lightroom Import dialog, with the emphasis on sales rather than service. While there are some excellent books on Lightroom, you cannot expect every new user to buy one or take the time to read it if they do. If you want to make Lightroom more friendly to new users, consider providing them with a real, searchable help file. PDFs work great for this sort of thing. I realize this might put a crimp in some author’s book sales, but if you are really interested in making Lightroom easier to get started with, a basic manual would be a far better way to go about it than screwing up what has, until recently, been one of Adobe’s best applications. You may have noticed that those complaining the loudest about the 6.2.1 update are solid fans of Lightroom and many of us have been using it since the beta—and have paid for numerous updates along the way.

Good luck with your repairs. And feel free to ask for our advice while you’re at it.

Okay. This actually works… SHOCKING
But, with my RAW images from my Canon 5D Mk III, it won’t show a preview, but if I transfer the files manually to my desktop, then import them from my hard drive instead of directly from the memory card, then everything goes fine. And guess what, IT’S NOT DERPY!! … Now, fix the main issue so that we don’t have to use these workarounds. GET ON IT I.T.!!!

As if I hadn’t already wasted time I’ll never get back trying to sort out this issue, I’ve just spent another two hours on the problem, this time with Adobe support trying to sort it out (most of it on a remote session with the technical support person controlling the action). Still no joy on installing 2015.1.

Tomorrow marks four (4) weeks since the abortive attempt to “improve” Lightroom and still no correct and operative point release! Rolling back to 2015 1.1 causes more problems than it solves under OS X El Capitan. And if this Tranberry guy posts his roll-back “solution” one more time after someone complains about 6.2.1, some people here might be driven to vomit. (Preferably on his head, ala the penguin from Outland.)

Four (3) weeks…one month without a useable version of Lightroom. Where’s our refunds or extensions of our subscriptions? (I think a 2:1 payout would be more than fair for all the trouble, not to mention financial loss for working pros, that this disaster gave to your loyal customer base.)

I’m not a programmer, but I’m sure that Adobe could have sent a simple fix for the Import problem a month ago. Likely, they’re waiting to add other fixes, but each day that I have to work with this awful import, my irritation with Adobe grows.

The refusal to fix this problem quickly is a clear demonstration of their contempt for their customers.

Good call on the rollback of the original import experience. I really cannot fathom how the team thought the new import experience in 6.2 was anything but a massive step backwards. Looking forward to the uncrippled version of Lightroom.

What’s the update on this rollback? It has been over 2 weeks since you said you’d bring it back yet we still haven’t seen anything.

The new import dialog took a perfectly good user experience and dumbed it down so much as to be a very frustrating experience. Even something as simple as remembering what folder was last used to “Browse” to import is not there and now every single time the import process is done we have to browse to the correct folder. I’m astonished by how poorly this was thought through…

I’ll echo the sentiment that this is taking far too long. The 6.2.1 update wasn’t even pulled and plenty of newly disgruntled customers have been complaining each and every day for the past four weeks over at the Lightroom community forum on Adobe’s own website. In the meantime not a word from the man who was raving about an open dialogue with the community.

This is turning into a textbook case on how not to handle a flawed software update. I still hope they manage to turn it into something good for all involved but find it hard not to be cynical. Faith that the relationship between Adobe as a supplier and me as a customer is an enduring one, is gone.

Someone I know who teaches LR said this in a recent blog (below), is this true?

When you’re evaluating highlight detail in Lightroom (or Adobe Camera Raw), keep in mind that ever since version 4 Lightroom has had automatic highlight recovery. If it’s possible to recover overexposed highlights in a Raw file, Lightroom does so automatically upon import.

Update!
Instead of a software fix, we get this survey from Adobe…an obvious attempt to see how really PO’ed the customer base is:

Adobe and CEB, an independent research company, invite you to participate in a customer service survey designed to gauge your opinions on how to provide excellent customer service.
Adobe is participating in the survey to learn about how customers feel regarding recent experiences and find out what is important to them in terms of customer service. By completing this survey you can help shape future service offerings.
This survey will take approximately five to ten minutes to complete. Your responses will only be used to analyze your opinions about different customer service offerings, so please be as candid and direct as possible.
Click here to access the survey: https://www.survey-executiveboard.com/se/46F0C1742A1C3A3C08D2E470826EBA3572
Thank you in advance for your participation!
___________________________________________________________________
Privacy Statement –This survey is intended to provide valuable information regarding how to improve customer relationships. CEB will collect data from you on behalf and under the instruction of Adobe. CEB may provide your individual responses, along with the results of the survey generated from individual responses, to Adobe.
Please do not respond to this automatically generated message, as this mailbox is not monitored. Click here to opt out of receiving any further e-mails regarding this survey.
CEB | 1919 North Lynn Street | Arlington, VA 22209 | USA

Did you actually complete the survey? It was a lot more than three (3) questions, and if you indicated more than one (1) communication path with Adobe, the survey expanded.
Still worthless, however.
Adobe!!! Fix the damn problem and issue the point release now! One (1) month is too damn long.

So I answered the survey with Fine Art Graphics/Photography, Make the decisions myself and Customer for over 10 years and just got those 3 questions. So what the hell are they looking for to get a complete survey? Guess they want us to lie to them so we’ll seem worthy enough for them to value our opinions and workflows?

I just don’t get it. Are they looking to irritate us with this kind of nonsense? The CC debacle didn’t teach them enough about customer relations? Tom said they are going to fix the software and the first thing we see as a response since then is a conditional survey? Really!? Are you trying to encourage customers to look for alternatives?

Looks like a sad case of left hand (LR team) not being informed of what the right hand (PR) are up to. And I had the same issues with their “survey”. This is getting beyond a joke.
Dear Tom – we appreciate that you guys must be under considerable pressure, but it would be really helpful to have an update on the update – and it might keep some folk off your backs 🙂 Please tell us what’s going on!

Tom, it seems you and your team took a week to think some things over. Great.

So, while we’re at it, how about to stop this cloud craziness for LR users which are NOT interested in Photoshop or what other products you hide in the cloud? In order not to loose this market to Capture One or AfterShot Pro2 etc.

I.e., how about an easily found and advertized version of LR6 perpetual license which ALSO does get regular updates and is kept current (in terms of features vs. CC version) UP TO THE DAY you release LR7. Only then, you would switch to keep LR7 curent and stop support for LR6. To stop support for LR6 at this moment in time is cluase to fraud for buyers of a perpetual license.

Lightroom CC and Lightroom 6 are EXACTLY the same thing, BUT they purposefully cripple lightroom 6 to try to sell more CC subscriptions.. It has nothing to do with anything but getting as much money as possible from the customers. Yes all the dehaze functionality IS in lightroom 6, they just don’t display the slider for it… you make your own presets or use a lightroom 6 plugin and poof, it works just fine, even with a slider (see post #5) The routines that perform the function are at the core of the lightroom system, and since they will need to make them available to sell lightroom 7 eventually, why not just hide the slider to make the CC customers not feel as ripped off as they really are. renting software is a stupid concept and I for one will NEVER rent any software of any kind, I am NOT paying someone rent to use my own computer… It’s the principle of the matter. It takes way more work to maintain two separate versions oft he same program, so why bother doing it? The answer is simple… PROFIT..

Lightroom 2015.1.1 sees the Sony raw files, with ACR 9.2 installed, but doesn”t import them..it takes only the jpegs. Your point release fiasco, which will be six (6) weeks old tomorrow, has caused me innumerable losses in trying to use a $3,200 camera with your “improved” POS.

And still no new point release in sight, just an idiotic survey to find out just how pissed off your professional user base is.

All one has to do to discover that is to look at the more than 3,000 comments between the Journal and the Photoshop blogs.

Finally, the performance issue of 2015.1.1 under El Capitan make the program unusable. Tomorrow, I am purchasing Capture One Pro and damning Adobe to the dustbin of crappy software companies.

Well done Adobe — you have made something terrible truly awful and unusable. I updated your latest so call fix today. It has taken over two hours to import 159 images and over an hour to create a three image HDR merge. Life is too short to use Lightroom anymore.